Tall ship may call Oceanside Harbor home

By: PHILIP K. IRELAND and PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer | Monday, December 31, 2007 11:26 PM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- One of four tall ships sailing into Oceanside over the next week could eventually end up calling the harbor home.

City officials said Monday that talks are under way to make Oceanside home to the Lynx, a three-masted sailing ship that is a replica of a schooner that preyed on coastal merchant ships during the War of 1812.

The Lynx will sail into the harbor at 3 p.m. Thursday, the first of four tall ships to arrive as part of an educational program for local schoolchildren.

The gathering of tall ships ---- owned by various foundations ---- could become an annual festival celebrating early American maritime history if city leaders and foundation officials can reach an agreement, said Jeffrey Woods, a spokesman for the Lynx Educational Foundation, which owns and operates the Lynx.

City officials are receptive to both ideas ---- making the harbor home to the Lynx and creating an annual festival ---- but details of the partnership must still be worked out. Don Hadley, Oceanside's deputy city manager, said he hopes to flush out those details in the next few weeks while the Lynx is docked in Oceanside.

"I would say it's very likely," Hadley said. "We've been talking about it. I think it's doable."

Woods suggested the idea of home-porting the ship here when the Lynx visited Oceanside during Harbor Days in September, Hadley said.

The Lynx once called Newport Beach home, but Newport's harbor has seen a build-up of silt and is now too shallow to accommodate the 78-foot-long vessel, Woods said.

Oceanside's Dolphin Dock, just inside Oceanside Harbor, is the perfect location, Woods said. The dock offers ample parking for visitors and deep water for the schooner's 9-foot "draft" ---- the minimum water depth required for that ship.

Woods noted that coastal cities such as San Diego, Dana Point, Long Beach and San Pedro serve as home ports for tall ships.

"It's a natural for Oceanside ---- the next logical step," Woods said.

The foundation is looking for free dock rental, signs and maybe some money to help local school districts visit the ship, Woods said.

The city could provide the dock space, signs and public relations support, Hadley said, but would probably not provide sponsorship money.

"That's what the foundation does," he said. "It raises money."

Other than a dock use permit, no special permission would be needed, Hadley said.

Harbor business owners reacted favorably Monday to the idea that Oceanside might host the Lynx.

Mel Rawlins, owner of the Harbor Gift Shop, said he is in favor of any amenity that could draw more tourists to the harbor, especially since nearby bridge construction has hurt sales over the last six months.

"I think it would bring more people down here, sure," Rawlins said. "Another thing that could bring people down here would be great."

A few doors down, at the Beach Brat clothing store, owner Sharon Faithful said she thought the Lynx could help get harbor shop owners through the winter months.

"It definitely might help with the slow season," Faithful said.

Oceanside Mayor Jim Woods said he also liked the idea.

"If it's feasible to us, and it's a tourist draw, then I would be very supportive of it," said

The Lynx will be the first of four tall ships to arrive in the next two weeks.

The schooner will be joined Jan. 9 by the Lady Washington, an 18th-century trading ship; and the Hawaiian Chieftain, a 19th-century trader that ferried goods between the Hawaiian islands. Both ships are accurate replicas of original vessels. The Spirit of Dana Point, a 1770s privateer, will arrive Jan. 11.

All four ships will engage in mock battles in the waters off Oceanside on Jan. 12 and 13 "with lots of booms and smoke" from the ship's black-powder cannons, Woods said.

The ships will be open to public tours daily, with the Lynx offering three-hour sailing adventures on the weekends, Woods said.

The Lynx and the Lady Washington were involved in the making of the movie "The Pirates of the Caribbean," Woods said. The Lynx served as a training ship for actors and crew, and the Lady Washington masqueraded as the HMS Interceptor in the film.

Woods said the Lynx is an educational ship that caters to students and teachers seeking hands-on experience aboard 17th- and 18th-century period ships.

"These ships travel and teach maritime history," Woods said. "These vessels represent what it was like. This was our Navy, our military. This is reliving history."

If the deal with Oceanside goes through, the Lynx would anchor in Oceanside about two months a year ---- likely a month in the early fall and a month in late winter, Woods said.

Flying its Oceanside home port flag, the Lynx and its crew of eight would travel from port to port along the California coast and Hawaii.

Contact Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday

3 p.m. --- Lynx arrives

4 to 5 p.m. ---- Free dockside tours

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ---- Dockside tours (Adults, $5 donation; children 12 and under, free)

1 to 4 p.m. --- Adventure sail (Adults, $65; active military, $55; children 12 and under, $30)

Monday through Jan. 11

4 to 5 p.m.---- Dockside tours (Adults, $5 donation; children 12 and under, free)

Jan. 12, 13

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ---- Dockside tours (Adults, $5 donation; children 12 and under, free)

2 to 5 p.m. ---- Battle sail re-enactments (Adults, $65; active military, $55; children 12 and under, $30)